Coal and Shale Mining Non-Fatal Accidents, NSW 1876-1920

Two other publications covered the tragic loss of life in the coal mines of the Hunter Valley. These were – Nineteenth Century Coalmining Related Deaths, Hunter Valley, NSW, and Coalmining Related Deaths, Hunter Valley, NSW, 1901-1925.
Many sources were consulted in the preparation of those works, including the invaluable Annual Reports of the relevant government departments.
During the course of compilation from the material extracted from the Annual Reports, it became evident that valuable information lay in another set of tabulations, ‘List of Non-Fatal Accidents,’ which appeared in part on some of the many pages consulted for the major projects.
By following the information on a death certificate, it is not difficult for family historians to learn that a man died as the result of a mining accident, coal fall, etc., no matter how brief the wording on that certificate. Searches in newspaper reports and inquests can then follow. How much more difficult is it to discover that an accident occurred from which a death did not occur.
This work names over 4,000 such incidents in the coal and shale mines of New South Wales, from temporary, although painful afflictions, to distressing long-term or permanent disability with loss of sight, limbs or mobility.
It was originally hoped to extend the coverage to 1925, but tabulations by name, for this purpose, ceased after the year 1920 in the Mines Department Reports.
Other material from a variety of miscellaneous sources has been included, particularly some examples found not to have been reported to the Mines Inspectors of the day. These sources and coverage are also outlined.